Tow truck insurance is a specialized coverage that protects tow truck businesses from the risks they face. The nature of this work can be somewhat unpredictable and can lead to various liabilities. Tow truck insurance protects businesses from financial losses resulting from accidents, damage to towed vehicles, injuries, and other related accidents.
Here are the key components of tow truck insurance:
Liability insurance – This is a critical aspect of tow truck insurance. It covers bodily injury and property damage liability that can come from accidents involving tow trucks. It can also help pay for medical fees, repair costs, and legal fees if your driver is found responsible for harming other drivers.
Physical damage insurance – It covers the costs to repair or replace your tow truck if it is damaged in an accident. If you have comprehensive coverage added on, it covers damages resulting from theft, vandalism, or weather-related incidents.
On-hook insurance – This is a unique policy, in that it protects the vehicles that your tow truck driver is towing. If a vehicle is damaged in the process of being towed, on-hook insurance will cover the costs of repairs or replacements.
Garagekeepers insurance – If you operate a tow truck business that stores or maintains vehicles, you’ll want to add garagekeepers insurance to your policy. It protects you in case of damage to a customer’s vehicle while it is in your custody.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance – This insurance coverage protects your driver if there’s an accident involving another driver who may be underinsured or uninsured.
Your Florida Truck Insurance Checklist
The steps you need to obtain tow truck insurance in Florida may vary depending on the insurance provider. However, there are some general requirements that you can expect.
Business Registration
You must first obtain a registered and licensed tow truck business in Florida. Along with this, comes the need for business licenses and permits needed for local governments.
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
You will need commercial auto insurance for your fleet of tow trucks. You can find out which policies you may need or may be of use to you by viewing the list above.
Driving Record
Insurance providers may examine your driving record history before issuing a policy. It’s best to ensure you have a clean record with no serious violations or accidents. This could also help lower your premium.
Operations
Prepare to explain what kind of towing you want to perform. An insurance provider will want to know if you are performing consensual towing or non-consensual towing. Consensual towing is when a company offers assistance to customers who are dealing with mechanical issues on the side of the road or who have been involved in an accident and need a tow. Non-consensual towing involves towing services for private property owners and law enforcement. These are two very different types of towing services and come with their own unique risks and liabilities.
Other Florida Guidelines You Need To Know
In Florida, tow truck businesses are required to meet certain liability requirements.
Tow trucks that weigh less than 35,000 pounds have to carry a minimum coverage of $50,000 combined single limit. If the tow truck weighs between 35,000 to 39,000 pounds, it has to carry a minimum of $100,000 combined single limit. Lastly, if the tow truck weighs 40,000 or more it has to carry at least $300,000 combined single limit. All of these limits apply per occurrence.
Tow trucks also have requirements for garage or garagekeepers coverage. Florida tow truck businesses have to carry a minimum of $300,000 combined single limit of garage liability insurance. Operators have to carry a minimum garagekeepers liability limit of $50,000 for each loss.
Personal injury protection is also important. That’s why tow truck businesses in Florida have to carry personal injury protection insurance with a minimum limit of $10,000 combined single limit.
RRL Insurance: A Florida Operator’s Guide
RRL Insurance offers comprehensive and tailored insurance solutions to meet your tow truck needs. Our coverage options include auto liability, general liability, comprehensive/collision, on-hook, and gargekeepeers insurance. When you work with RRL Insurance you’ll know you have an adequate insurance policy designed to protect your business’s unique risks and liabilities.
Our team of experienced insurance professionals can walk you through the process. It’s easy! Please contact us to learn more about our towing insurance policies. We look forward to working with you!